


there's more than flesh and bones

by fromTV (hamburr)



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Battle, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feelings, Found Family, Gen, Kravitz/Magnus Burnsides/Taako (implied), Post-Canon, Reconciliation, fighting some undead dragons, kinda??, pretending to know anything about spells or anything else in dnd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 05:24:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15308427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hamburr/pseuds/fromTV
Summary: It takes a decade, solidly, at least.Ten years of gatherings of friends and family that span at least two rooms, under the barest facade of casualness. It's not something, after a couple years, that anyone focuses on, but it's still there.





	there's more than flesh and bones

**Author's Note:**

> hello and welcome to my VERY FIRST TAZ FIC THAT I AM POSTING I HOPE YOU ENJOY!!

It takes a decade, solidly, at least.

 

Ten years of gatherings of friends and family that span at least two rooms, under the barest facade of casualness. It's not something, after a couple years, that anyone focuses on, but any time Taako and Lucretia come face to face, the tension in the room ratchets up a tangible amount and ozone seems to crackle in the room until they part ways again. Should the rare instance occur that they share a dinner table, they'll sit as far as they can to avoid each other.

 

The onus is, of course, on Lucretia to keep her distance -- there had been a long, barely-contained talk between the two of them soon after the Day of Story and Song, mediated by five others. Merle had joked about bringing them into the Parlay room, but the real encounter was not far off. It was in the cafeteria of the moon base -- Taako had chosen the venue, had sat with his back to the wall that still read LUP in scorched letters, so that when Lucretia looked at him, she would see that burned-in reminder of what she had done.

 

"Don't you think that's a little much?" Merle had said.

 

"Absolutely fucking not," Taako shot back, and leaned back in his chair, his feet up on the table, waiting for Lucretia's arrival. When she had entered the room, it was like suddenly the air was harder to breathe. Taako kept his casual position, but there was something forced about it now, something tense. He found he couldn't meet her eyes for more than the brief moment after she stepped in the room, and then couldn't manage to figure out whether that was her avoiding eye contact or him.

 

Lup and Taako had prepared an itemized list of things Taako wanted to go over and establish as boundaries.

 

"This is all very formal," she said, hovering over his bed, casting an orange glow over the room, over the paper with tense, scribbly handwriting and lots of scratched out words. "You sure you don't want me or Magnus to just be the go-between?"

 

"I'd rather be formal. I don't want anything to be lost in transit. Not that I don't trust you and Magnus, I just -- want to make sure we do this properly. It would be easier if we cut off contact completely, but as we can't do that -- well. Gotta figure this shit out somehow."

 

Lucretia had been still and quiet and composed and agreed without argument to all of Taako's extended terms and conditions, for any situation wherein they might find themselves interacting, for time indeterminate possibly until the end of forever.

 

Taako could always hold a grudge.

 

He knew that people found it ridiculous. "Taako," someone might say, "are you and Lucretia still on bad terms? She did save all of reality, basically."

 

"Fuck off," Taako might say in return, "it's none of your goddamn business, and she couldn't have done it without me, for the record, so put that in your tabloid, shithead."

 

But he couldn't help it, the anxiety and even fear that raced through his veins whenever he saw Lucretia. There was a long stretch of time, even after getting his memories back, where Taako's mind would go fuzzy and for just a moment, his grip on his memories would struggle. Countless nights spent up with Lup, fighting tears and panic attacks and any other of unpleasantries, painfully digging through memories and trying to tell which ones were the real ones. Which ones were the ones that happened? Which ones were voidfish-induced, trying to fill in the gaps where his heart was missing?

 

(He is her heart, and she is his, too.)

 

So being in a room with Lucretia -- well, it takes him back to that moment in her quarters, where he's on the floor and reeling from trying to process everything that's just been stuffed back into his mind after ten years of emptiness and staticky fuzz. Even looking in a mirror could make him feel staticky, and he thought -- he'd thought so many things about why that could be -- but it was just because his reflection was, well, so much like Lup.

 

Though after Wonderland, that hadn't happened anymore.

 

Not that he made such a habit of looking into mirrors, though, since then.

 

But it's been a long time. Years of barely seeing each other in passing, of turning to look away fast before they can exchange a glance even though they already have, of fiercely avoiding each other in every conceivable way. But as this time passes, as the years wear on, Taako finds that accidentally encountering Lucretia doesn't set his heart into galloping panic mode anymore. That he doesn't spit out " _her_ " whenever he must reference her in a conversation. (It changes to "y'know, _Lucretia_ " to " _Lucretia_ " to just her name with only a touch of venom.)

 

He doesn't want to see her, still. He doesn't like being around her, he doesn't like thinking about any of it. The feeling of betrayal, deep and vast and seemingly infinite -- it still surfaces whenever he thinks of her. Anger that burns hot, deep inside his chest. But she shows up in the newspapers sometimes, and he eventually stops incinerating them at the first sight of her name. He sees the work she is doing, the work they are all a part of -- trying to make the world a better place, in their way. She's made the moon base a home for people who don't otherwise have a home, like Taako has done with his school. Helping others find a place. Helping protect people when they need it.

 

He hates the begrudging respect that blossoms like the tiniest forget-me-not inside his chest when he hears of her work. He hates thinking about her and knowing that she's doing good things, that she isn't a rotten person that he can feel justified and satisfied hating. He hates knowing that she's a complex person with complex morals and standards and "goddamn it, Lup, it would just be so much easier if she was an awful person and I could hate her with my whole body and soul and just be done with it! I hate having feelings that I have to, like, handle and process and deal with! This is fucking bullshit!"

 

"I know, man," says Lup, who is lying on the bed behind him, half-curled around him in a sort of protective crescent shape. "I wish this was easier for you, too. I hate seeing you hurting like this."

 

"I bet it would be so much easier for everyone else if I could just suck it up and forgive her," Taako says bitterly.

 

Lup wraps her arms around his waist. "Okay, so what? You're loved and cared for and anyone who thinks you're being unreasonable can fuck right off. Your feelings are justified and you're allowed to not want to be around her. Doesn't matter if it makes things 'inconvenient' or whatever. Our priority is your happiness and comfort, period, full stop, no questions asked."

 

Taako sighs. "God, this sucks. What a fuckin' downer. Let's go get some ice cream or something, please, get out of the misery zone."

 

"Last one ready has to pay!"

 

The two of them trip over each other, cackling, trying to get in the way of each other getting ready as they try to get themselves ready too, and for a moment, they can both forget every trouble in the world.

 

They open the door and find themselves face-to-face with a breathless Magnus who has just lifted his fist to knock on the door. They all look at each other in concern, confusion, and alarm, each in varying levels.

 

"What's up?" Taako says.

 

"There's been a situation, we need you," says Magnus. "All hands on deck."

 

"Shit, alright, what's going on?" says Lup.

 

"But our _ice cream_ ," Taako whines, even as they rush after Magnus to board a Bureau bubble that he has somehow procured even without a bracer.

 

"I'll buy you both ice cream later, once we deal with this," Magnus says gruffly.

 

"Okay, what's going on that you had to ruin our ice cream social, then?"

 

"There's been -- an issue, with someone fucking with magic they shouldn't be and also like with dragons and basically what I am saying is there is an entire fucking family of dragons under some sort of -- I don't know, I don't know anything about magic, but some fucked up spell that makes them undead and also want to fight shit? I think they might have been dead dragons that got raised, I don't know, Barry is on that sort of investigation but, god can't this thing go any faster? They're by the moon base and it's also pretty close to your school, Taako, and it was getting real messy when they sent me to get you and I said I could stay and help because I'm a fucking tank but they said they really needed magic users which I guess makes sense because they're undead dragons but like holy fuck, you know?"

 

Magnus says all of this very fast, and Taako and Lup both blink at him for a moment while their brains catch up.

 

"Shit. _Fuck_ ," says Taako, at the same time Lup says, "Fuck. _Shit_."

 

"Yep!" says Magnus, and the orb starts to descend. Taako reaches for Magnus's hand and squeezes it gently. Magnus squeezes back.

 

As the orb lowers through the clouds, the scene is revealed to them. There is a clutch of four -- no, five dragons, three of them fully-grown, two of them adolescent, with translucent oil-slick black skin, shimmering darkly in the sunlight, their bones visible beneath. One of them is making flames in its throat and Taako can see it forming inside its neck, glowing through, before it opens its mouth and exhales. They are all in flight around the moon base, which is lowered pretty significantly, but does not look to have taken significant damage yet.

 

As they land, the sounds of the dragons, the wingbeats and roars and growls, combined with the shouts of the individuals on the moon base, becomes louder and louder. As soon as they touch down and come to a stop, the three of them leap from the ball and race off, following Magnus. 

 

Magnus leads them to where a group of people have gathered -- namely, many of the residents of the moon base who have not yet been evacuated, many of the strongest magic-using and fighting employees (Taako sees Carey, Killian, and Avi amongst the crowd), and Merle, Kravitz, Davenport, Angus, and of course, Lucretia.

 

"What is Angus doing here?" Taako snaps at whoever is closest, which happens to be Magnus. Angus overhears and turns to look at Taako.

 

"I'm qualified! I'm not a kid anymore, Taako," he says, exasperated and a bit defensive, and Taako shakes his head.

 

"Twenty years old is a goddamn baby, Ango, you're absurd."

 

"You're using the wrong lifespan math!"

 

"This argument is pointless, he's a fantastic wizard and we need his help, just like we need yours," says Kravitz, ever sensible. Taako makes a face at him -- to which Kravitz smiles -- but he quiets.

 

"Okay, so what's the plan?"

 

"Well, we've got Barry on the farspeech line, and he's saying that probably what happened is someone tapped into some real big source of necromantic power and woke up a whole family of long-dead dragons and of course it's not like when this happens they ever wind up benevolent undead so, uh, we've got some dragon zombies that we need to take care of, which is just great. I'd just get in there and send them to the astral plane but unfortunately they are way too agitated to get anywhere within the range of my scythe, so we're going to have to do this the hard way," says Kravitz.

 

"Well, fuck," says Taako. "Well, are we going to divide and conquer?"

 

"I've got a plan drawn up," Angus says, and lays out a piece of paper on a table. Taako has to blink hard for a moment, even after all this time, when he leans forward over his shoulder and remembers the hours he spent with Barry in this exact way.

 

"Kravitz and Magnus should team up; Magnus can protect and defend Kravitz so that he can get close to the dragons and do his thing. They should start with the least aggressive dragon and work their way up. Merle and Davenport, Carey and Killian, Lup and Taako, and Lucretia and I will take each of the other dragons, two per dragon, in the pairs I just read off. The aim is to subdue for Kravitz and Lup and Barry, once he arrives, to do their work. Taako, you'll be covering Lup, like Magnus will be for Kravitz. When Barry arrives, he will join forces with whoever is able to team up with him, either creating a trio or bringing in someone else, possibly Avi, to be his partner."

 

There is a loud crash.

 

"And we have to do it now, let's go!" Angus finishes in a hurry, and rolls up his plan and stuffs it in his pocket. Lup grabs Taako's hand and they both run towards the nearest dragon. Lup is grinning, her whole being alight -- somewhat literally, her hand nearly burns Taako's -- as she truly gets into her element, excited to kick some ass. Taako casts a quiet protection spell, hoping to minimize the amount of harm the both of them take, and then it's on.

 

The dragon they are now face-to-face with is the second largest of the bunch. From the way it holds its head and the imperious gaze it gives to them, Taako imagines this dragon must have been a sight to behold when alive. He's met dragons before, and he knows how smart and incredible and brilliant beings they are, and finds himself wishing that they had met while the dragon was in possession of its true self, instead of this shadow that it is. Its mouth opens slightly, and its exhale is sharp and cold -- an ice dragon. Lup grins and lets go of Taako's hand, and then immediately her form is silhouetted in flames.

 

"Ice is weak to fire, fucker," Lup says, and casts an enormous fireball right at the dragon's face.

 

No subtlety has his sister, but damn if she doesn't have style, Taako thinks, as the fireball hits and the dragon reels, squealing. One of the other dragons turns and roars in response, and opens its wings to fly closer, but is disrupted by a very neat and perfectly timed magic missile by Angus, who catches Taako's eye for the briefest of moments and grins. Taako winks in response and casts his own magic missile at the dragon he is engaged in combat with.

 

Things go very smoothly for a very short period of time, until Barry appears through a rift and rushes over to Lup and Taako.

 

He speaks breathlessly. "Babe -- and Taako, hi -- we've got a real big problem --"

 

"Wh --" starts Lup, and then a sixth dragon bursts from the ground beneath the moon base, screeching in fury. It is twice the size of the largest dragon currently assaulting the base, unspeakably massive, and just crackling with magic power.

 

"Fuck!" yells Taako. "Lup, Barry, try and take care of as many of these fuckers as you can with Kravitz. Just try and get close and nab 'em with your scythe, no funny business, no showing off, okay? We need to get as many people free to fight as possible."

 

Lup salutes him, winks, and grabs Barry by the arm, and they both rush the dragon Lup and Taako were just fighting. The two of them are nearly as seamless a team as Taako and Lup are, and Taako is momentarily captivated with the speed at which they dispatch the dragon; Lup casts another of her huge fireballs and distracts the dragon, and Barry dives in and, with a neat blow to the dragon's neck with his scythe, banishes it to the ethereal realm.

 

Taako has only enough time to look around and see that now only three of the original five dragons remain before the huge dragon appears over the edge of the moon base with a roar that shakes the ground.

 

"Stand your ground!" Taako can hear Magnus yelling. "Anyone with a free hand, come to me! If you're still fighting your original dragon, stay there! Kravitz, do your thing!"

 

Magnus is suddenly behind Taako. He puts a hand on Taako's back.

 

"You ready for this?" he asks, leaning close.

 

"Oh, hell yeah," says Taako, and lifts his hand to cast something -- just as the dragon unleashes a burst of flame as big as the moon base, directed straight at the group of them, and Magnus dives forward with his shield in what would surely have been a fruitless move but for a bubble-like shield appearing in front of them, in Lucretia's trademark hand. The fire is absorbed harmlessly by the shield and the dragon looks confused.

 

Almost dizzy from the sudden burst of adrenaline, Taako looks around. Another dragon has been vanquished, the one Lucretia and Angus were fighting, and Angus and Kravitz are now sprinting across the common area to get to one of the smaller remaining two. Lup and Barry are engaged in combat with one apiece, Merle and Davenport and Carey and Killian assisting them respectively. They are all acutely aware of the danger from the enormous dragon, and Taako fears it might be distracting them, for they all keep casting anxious glances at the huge dragon over their shoulders.

 

"Guys, don't worry about it! We got this!" he yells at them, and as Lucretia's shield comes down, he casts one of his highest level combat spells -- and the dragon drops and dodges. Its front feet grab onto the edge of the moon base and it roars, flame collecting in its throat.

 

"Well, fuck," says Taako, and then all hell breaks loose.

 

Spells are shot from all directions, shaped and aimed as carefully as possible to avoid hitting allies. There are shouts and yells and screams and Taako can't tell which belong to who, much less whether they are of triumph or battle cries or pain. He just focuses with all his might, taking his actions and casting his spells as best as he can, and time seems to blur until suddenly things seem to go much quieter, and he realizes -- there's only one dragon left, but something is wrong.

 

He looks around to see nearly everyone gathered in a bunch Magnus kneeling, holding someone in his arms, talking to them, and when he shifts he can see -- it's Angus. His eyes are open and he is looking around, conscious and aware, and Taako can't see any blood, but he's about to rush over when he feels the rush of air that is the dragon inhaling, preparing to exhale fire, and suddenly Lucretia is at his left and they exchange a look and Taako casts a bolt of lightning from which the recoil almost knocks him back, and as soon as the spell is out of range, Lucretia's shield bursts into being around everyone in the area, keeping everyone safe from the dragon's returning blast. Lup appears, then, seemingly out of nowhere, and brings her scythe down straight into the dragon's massive forehead, and it vanishes in a puff of smoke.

 

Everything is, abruptly, very still and quiet. Taako and Lucretia are both breathing hard, and at least a solid ten feet away from the nearest person. They look at each other.

 

"Nice one, Lucy," says Taako.

 

"You too," Lucretia says. There is a brief pause, wherein no words are said, but nothing needs to be, and then Taako rushes over to check up on Angus.

 

Angus is being seen to by Merle, who is just finishing up his healing spell as Taako approaches.

 

"A dragon stepped on my leg and fucked it up real bad, but I knocked it off the base and Kravitz and Lup, like, double banished it, and it was the coolest thing, I wish you'd seen it!" Angus says.

 

"I bet you rocked it, kiddo," Taako says. Angus looks like he's going to protest the diminuitive, but Merle interrupts him.

 

"Try helping him up, see if you can put your weight on that leg," says Merle, and Taako holds out a hand to help Angus up. He stands with no issue, and immediately hugs Taako tightly.

 

"You and Lucretia, that was so awesome! Your timing was ridiculously perfect, I've never seen anything like that!"

 

"We spent a long time working together," Taako says, ruffling Angus's hair. "Got it on lock pretty well, I think."

 

"I'll say!" Angus says. He looks over Taako's shoulder, and then says to someone behind his back, "You probably heard what I just said, Lucretia, but that was so cool!"

 

"I did, yes, but thank you."

 

Taako can hear the quiet smile in her voice, and for some reason, it doesn't fill Taako with the blazing anger it usually does. He steps back from Angus, who keeps his balance on his newly healed leg perfectly well, as a satisfied Merle watches. He sees Lup watching him, too, and Kravitz and Magnus.

 

"Give me a minute, will you?" Taako says, to none of them in particular, and yet sort of all of them, and crosses back over to Lucretia.

 

Lucretia looks surprised to be approached by him, but he doesn't acknowledge this.

 

"Can we talk a second?"

 

"Sure, of course," Lucretia says. "Here or someplace else?"

 

"Just a little ways away. We've got a whole horde of eavesdroppers over there."

 

"Oh, don't I know it," Lucretia says, with a little smile, and they walk together in silence, away from the crowd of their friends, their family, and sit on a low wall around a (surprisingly still intact, what with all the dragon breath) garden.

 

"Creesh," says Taako. "Look, it's been ages since we've even, like, talked. And I'm not saying I'm about to rebuild that bridge all at once. But -- y'know. A hundred years is a long-ass time, especially for you humans, and, well. The shit you did doesn't erase all that time. So, uh, I guess what I'm saying is, I don't forgive you."

 

Lucretia's eyebrows jump up, but aside from that, she says nothing.

 

"I definitely don't. And I'm not going to, and I don't have to, and it's just not happening. But what I am saying, is, well, I guess -- that isn't everything anymore. I mean -- well, I mean, I don't have to get into it, you know my feelings perfectly well, and that's not the point here. The point here is, I guess -- maybe I don't have to, and we can still -- y'know -- be friends. Be family. And, I dunno, move forward and build a new bridge. Because no matter what's happened since then, you're still one of the six people in all of reality that I know best." Taako looks away and coughs. "And that's all the emotions you're getting out of me today and maybe ever, thank you and good night."

 

Lucretia is very quiet, and when Taako dares to look up at her, her ice-blue eyes have tears in them. She clears her throat and rubs her eyes with the back of her hand. "Thank you, Taako --"

 

"Don't mention it. Seriously, don't mention it, I am not getting sappy with you. This is a fragile new baby bridge, okay? Don't test it too hard."

 

Lucretia laughs. "I think I can handle that. Come on, let's go make sure everyone hasn't fallen apart without you there."

 

"Oh, please, you know they will have."

 

The two of them cross the grounds back to everyone else, not talking, but not needing to say anything -- for once, a simply amicable silence, as they begin to establish the foundation for their lives, moving forward.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks so much for reading! i can be found on tumblr @7thbird !! comments and kudos keep the words coming!! :D ♥


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